A dunning campaign is how Recurly Commerce keeps subscribers in the loop when a payment fails. You define the emails, the timing, and what happens at the end of the cycle — so your team doesn't have to intervene manually and your subscribers always know where things stand.

Available on all Recurly plans

1Definition 2Key benefits 3Key details 4FAQs

Prerequisites

You must have an active Recurly Commerce account
Dunning campaign settings are configured under Settings > Dunning Campaign
Payment retry settings are configured separately under Settings > Payment Retries

Limitations

Merchants can configure only one dunning campaign at a time
The dunning campaign enforces a maximum of one email per day per subscriber
Dunning emails are sent via Commerce transactional email templates — customization is available in Notifications

Definition

A dunning campaign is a sequence of automated emails sent to subscribers after a payment failure. You define which emails to send, when to send them — immediately on failure or after a set number of days — and what happens at the end of the cycle if payment still hasn't been recovered. Dunning campaigns work alongside Payment Retries, giving subscribers every opportunity to resolve a failed payment before losing access to their subscription.

Key benefits

Proactive subscriber communication Keep subscribers informed at every stage of the payment recovery process with timely, relevant emails.

Flexible scheduling Send the first email immediately on failure or delay it — up to one email per day, on your schedule.

Configurable end-of-cycle outcomes Choose to pause, cancel, or leave the subscription active when the dunning cycle ends, based on your business policy.

Automatic resolution If payment succeeds at any point, the campaign ends immediately and no further emails are sent.

Full audit trail Every dunning email sent is recorded in the notification log for visibility and troubleshooting.

Key details

How dunning works with Payment Retries

Dunning campaigns handle subscriber communication; Payment Retries handle charge recovery. Both activate on payment failure and run independently based on your configuration — neither tool waits for the other.

Payment Retries re-attempt the charge on the schedule you've set, working silently in the background
Dunning campaign emails fire on the day offsets you define, keeping the subscriber informed and prompting them to act
This means a subscriber might receive a dunning email on day one while a retry attempt fires on day two — or simultaneously. The combination gives the payment every chance of succeeding while the subscriber stays informed throughout.

If payment succeeds at any point — from a retry or a subscriber updating their payment method — the dunning campaign ends automatically, the subscription returns to active, and no further emails are sent.

Configure a dunning campaign

In Commerce, navigate to Settings > Dunning Campaign and select Edit Dunning Campaign. A Campaign Summary panel on the right updates in real time as you configure notifications, giving you a live preview of the full dunning sequence before you save.

The campaign configuration has two sections:

Failed payment notifications

Define the emails sent to subscribers during the dunning cycle. Each notification is triggered at a day offset relative to the initial payment failure.

Set the first notification timing

The 1st Notification can be sent Immediately — as soon as the first payment attempt fails — or after a set number of days.

Set day offsets for subsequent notifications

For each additional notification (2nd, 3rd, and so on), enter the number of days after the initial failure to send the email.

Add or remove notifications

Click + Add Notification to add another email to the sequence. Click the ✕ next to any notification to remove it.

Customize the email template (optional)

Click Edit Email Template in the top right of the section to customize the email content in Notifications.

NoteCommerce enforces a maximum of one dunning email per day per subscriber, regardless of how your campaign is configured.

At the end of the dunning cycle

Define what happens when the dunning cycle completes without a successful payment.

Subscription behavior — choose what happens to the subscription:

Cancel subscription: the subscription is cancelled and the subscriber receives a cancellation notification
Pause subscription: the subscription is paused and the subscriber retains access until manually reactivated
Leave the subscription active: the subscription remains active and the subscriber receives one final failed payment notification
Send cancellation (or pause) notification — set the number of days after the initial failure to send the end-of-cycle email. The Email Template field shows which template will be used. Click Edit to customize it in Notifications.

Once configured, click Save Campaign to activate.

Default campaignClick Reset to Default to restore the out-of-the-box 27-day campaign: an immediate hard decline notification, follow-ups on Days 1, 8, and 24, and a final cancellation email before terminating the subscription on Day 27.

Customize email templates

Dunning campaign emails use Commerce transactional email templates, editable in Notifications. There are two entry points within the campaign itself:

Failed payment notifications: click Edit Email Template in the top right of the Failed Payment Notifications section
End-of-cycle notification: click Edit next to the Email Template field in the At the End of the Dunning Cycle section

Klaviyo integration

If you use the Klaviyo integration, Commerce also fires payment-related metrics directly to Klaviyo — including Commerce Billing Attempt Failed, Commerce Payment Failed, and Commerce Payment Failed Retry. These can be used to trigger flows and campaigns in Klaviyo that run alongside or in place of your dunning campaign emails. See the Klaviyo integration doc for the full list of available metrics and how to configure them.

Notification log

Every dunning email sent is recorded in the Notification Log. Use it to confirm which emails were sent to a subscriber and when, and to troubleshoot any gaps in communication.

Automatic campaign resolution

If a subscriber updates their payment method and the charge processes successfully at any point during the dunning cycle, the campaign ends automatically:

No further dunning emails are sent — even if one was scheduled for that day
The subscription status returns to active
The normal renewal schedule resumes without alteration

FAQs

What happens when retries are exhausted before the campaign ends?

If retries reach their maximum count before the final dunning notification fires, retries stop — but the dunning campaign continues on its notification schedule. No terminal action (cancel, pause, or keep live) is applied until the campaign completes via its final notification. This means a subscriber can exhaust all retry attempts but remain in their current status until the final scheduled email fires and the campaign ends.

Does the dunning campaign stop if a retry succeeds?

Yes. If a retry recovers the payment at any point during the dunning cycle, the campaign ends immediately — no further emails are sent and the subscription returns to active.

Can I configure different dunning campaigns for different subscription plans?

Not yet. Commerce currently supports one dunning campaign per merchant. Support for multiple campaigns assigned to specific plans is planned for a future release.

Will a subscriber receive more than one dunning email per day?

No. Commerce enforces a maximum of one dunning email per day per subscriber, regardless of how your campaign is configured.